“I heard about the program from another animal science student who went the previous year, and she said it was a good spot to go...”

—Karen

Karen spent Spring semester in Melbourne, Australia with the Butler program. As an animal science major, she completed required coursework, and enjoyed the diversity of Australia’s natural setting.

Karen took three courses in Melbourne, two in her major, and one to fulfill liberal education requirements. Her microbiology and genetics courses were similar to the science courses she takes at the University of Minnesota. "The science courses were 300 people lectures. The only thing that was different was the testing…you had a midterm and a final, and the mid term was worth a small percentage of your grade." Karen didn’t find it difficult to get used to the testing arrangement, because she felt that she had more than enough time to study.

Karen’s interest is in production animals here at the University. In Australia, she didn’t have the chance to visit farms, but she was able to interact with the native fauna. “There was one wallaby in Tasmania that came up to us. That was really neat.” Tasmania was Karen’s favorite part of Australia to visit. “There are a lot of animals, not a lot of people around. It was really pretty.” Living, traveling, and studying in Australia helped her gain confidence in herself and independence.